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Salade Niçoise is Not What You Might Think It Is
Get your facts straight regarding salade niçoise, direct from the source
Aug 9, 2016 | 10:01 am
By
Monte Mathews
Staff Writer
We have the scoop on how a Salade Niçoise should really be made.
Unless you want to get your head taken off by your server, never ask where the cooked potatoes and green beans are when you order the famed salade niçoise in its home city of Nice on France’s Cote D’Azur. Heaven forbid you miss the tuna you may have gotten used to back home too.
It turns out the salad is a victim of its own success. It’s been amended and altered from its original recipe so that even the sunniest locals frown upon variations of the real thing. And what is the real thing? Salade niçoise doesn’t even appear in the bible of French cuisine, “Larousse Gastronomique.” Instead, it is pictured as “Mediterranean salad.”
We asked a local for help with the genuine article and here’s what she said: “I am French, I live in Nice, so I can assure you Salade Niçoise does notcontain green beans, potatoes, or any other ‘cooked’ vegetables. If you want a realsalade niçoise, you must use these (and only these) ingredients: tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, green peppers, onions, basil, garlic, hard-cooked eggs, anchovies, black olives, olive oil, salt, and pepper, of course!” After some cajoling, she parted with her recipe for the salad, insisting that if it is to be true to itself, all of its ingredients must come directly from the market.
Recipe for The True Salade Niçoise
This dish has been amended and altered so that even the sunniest locals frown upon variations of the real thing…and here it is!
Ingredients
10 Medium tomatoes
1 Cucumbers
12 Small, fresh artichokes, cut into slices
2 Green peppers
1 Red onion
6 Basil leaves
1 Garlic clove
3 Hard-boiled eggs
12 Anchovy fillets
3.5 Ounces black olives
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1. Make a dressing with 6 tablespoons of olive oil, finely chopped basil, salt, and pepper. Chill well in the refrigerator before serving.
2. Cut the tomatoes in quarters and salt slightly on the cutting board. Set aside in a bowl. Also cut the eggs into quarters eighths.
3.Cut the fillets of anchovy in three or four pieces each.
4. Finely slice the peeled cucumber.
5. Slice the onion in rings, the green pepper into strips and the artichokes into quarters.
6. Rub the bottom and the walls of a large bowl with a garlic clove cut in two, arrange all the ingredients inside, with the exception of tomatoes.
7. Drain tomatoes and salt them slightly before incorporating them into the salad.
Did you know that New York State is the second largest apple producer in the whole country? Only Washington State tops us. Trust a resourceful friend of ours, Wendy Brovetto, native New Yorker and grandchild of an Upstate New York Farm family, to create truly incredible Rustic Apple Jams in 4 extraordinary flavors. When she did, Croton Trading Co. was born.
Wendy explains ”We created our apple jam after one of those overzealous days of apple picking yielded a larger-than-usual haul. With more apples than any family could consume, the experimenting began and gave way to what we think is the perfect blend of apples and cinnamon.”
“We source our apples from local NY Orchards -- Thompson's Orchard in Westchester Co andl Richters Orchard on Long Island. I have a special fondness for these family-owned farms. Richters Orchard was a big part of my childhood, as my sistersand I would go on weekly outings with my dad to stock up on apples and cider"
"We carefully blend different apples to create our flavor profile and find inspiration from seasonal spices to create our Apple Jam”. Wendy proudly states.
Now Croton Trading Company is up to 4 flavors: Fall Harvest Blend, Ginger Pear Fusion, Chai, and Brown Sugar. You can see the whole range here:
Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to put Croton Trading Company’s Apple Jam to work making our Skillet Apple Pork Chops. This one-pot recipe is perfect for weeknights but so good you may want to serve to company. The chops finish cooking in Croton Trading’s Apple Jam and we always serve it on the side to give even more great apple taste to the dish. Here’s the recipe:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-oz.) bone-in pork chops
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 cup Croton Trading Rustic Apple Jam (we used Ginger Pear)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 small red onion, thinly vertically sliced
Chopped Parsley for garnish.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with 3/8 teaspoon salt and 3/8 teaspoon pepper. Add pork chops to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until pork chops beautifully browned. Remove from pan. Set aside pan and drippings.
In a small bowl, combine stock and Croton Trading Apple Jam, stirring with a whisk. Set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan with drippings, swirl. Add remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 3/8 teaspoon pepper, sage, rosemary, and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in stock mixture. Return pork chops to pan; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Plate each chop individually. Top with chopped parsley as a garnish. Serve with plenty of Croton Trading Apple Jam on the side.